MGNREGS jobs shrink in Gujarat amid worker deletions, mounting payment delays

The government has maintained that job card verification is a continuous exercise and that renewal is mandatory every five years under MGNREGS. However, when deletions consistently outpace additions, the process appears less like routine verification and more like a structural narrowing of access to the programme.The situation is further aggravated by pending payments. As of December 5, 2025, Gujarat had Rs 61.43 crore in unpaid wages and Rs 21.54 crore in pending material costs. These delays directly affect workers whose participation in the scheme depends on timely remuneration, weakening confidence and discouraging demand for work, thereby reinforcing the cycle of declining participation.National data underscores the broader stress on the scheme. Across the country, pending dues under MGNREGS total Rs 9,746.39 crore, including Rs 1,340.07 crore in wages, Rs 7,863.37 crore in material payments and Rs 542.95 crore in administrative costs, against a total allocation of Rs 86,000 crore for 2025–26. While the Centre has stated that fund releases and dues fluctuate daily, the scale of arrears points to systemic pressure rather than temporary delays.Taken together, the figures highlight a growing gap between symbolism and substance. Even as the scheme’s name is set to change, its footprint in Gujarat is contracting, with fewer workers on the rolls, fewer job cards, reduced employment and crores of rupees locked in pending payments. Without stabilising worker databases and clearing wage backlogs, the data suggests that MGNREGS risks being rebranded at the top while being hollowed out at the ground level.



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